


Eren's Cage

by Pendarth



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Post-Series, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 16:38:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 10,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4968373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pendarth/pseuds/Pendarth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a tale of people driven to the brink of death. How far will a person go for their desires? What lengths would a person scuttle through to get revenge? *Inspired by Attack on Titan. The chapters are much shorter after the initial two prologue chapters. Enjoy reading and thank you! Please comment any questions, what you liked, or did not like.</p><p>The father in the story (Zack's Dad) is Eren Yeager. Zeus and the Liomeranion race are based off the Titans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Signals

**Author's Note:**

> Characters:  
>   
> Grandpa Aiden Milo McLuca/ Main character of “Judgment”/ Zack’s Grandfather/the storyteller.  
> Zack Yeager: Eren’s Son/ Story being told to him by his grandfather/ an older version of him is narrating the story.  
> Mom Linda: Zack’s mother/ Eren Yeager Ex-wife/ Grandpa Aiden’s daughter.  
> IlliaM Ackerman: Brother of Mikasa/ hospital worker.  
> Eren Yeager: Main character from chapter “Fury” through “World War”.  
> Mikasa Ackerman: Illiam's sister/ Childhood friend and lover to Eren. Mikasa becomes the reason for Eren wage war.  
> Zeus: Leader of the Titans (Liomeranions race).  
> Servock?????: Underling of Zeus.  
> Robert: Lord E. Yeager’s military dispatcher.  
> Grand Chandler Michel T. Framirous: Leader of the United Earth Government (UEG).  
>   
> Content:  
>   
> Book 1:The Transient Cage  
> Chapter 1: Prologue: Signals  
> Chapter 2: Prologue: Labyrinth  
> Chapter 3: Fury  
> Chapter 4: Answers  
> Chapter 5: Forgotten Sunrise  
> Chapter 6: Scarlet Moon  
> Chapter 7: With Haste  
> Chapter 8: Mountain’s Cliff  
> Chapter 9: Trojan Horse  
> Chapter 10: Blue Rose  
> Chapter 11: Dreadful  
> Chapter 12: Truth  
> Chapter 13: Submerge  
> Chapter 14: Cast Away  
> Chapter 15: Forsaken  
> Chapter 16: The Blood and Body  
> Chapter 17: Spasm  
> Chapter 18: World War  
>   
> Book 2:The Transient Garden  
> Chapter 19: Omega  
> Chapter 20: Roulette  
> Chapter 21: Smashed Watch  
> Chapter 22: Desolation  
> Chapter 23: Terminist  
> Chapter 24: The foundation

The warm fire crackled, snapping the log in the fire place; the log charred as it slowly dwindled away. The floors were made of wooden plank and splintered on occasion; you could tell the house was made with hard work, but lacked in craftsmanship. I remember the house always smelling like burnt cinnamon from the fire; Grandpa had always said it kept his nostrils clear. Back then I was naive; how could I have known how the world would turn out. As I look back at my memories from that day- Yes, that day- the day that I learned about my father; it became the prologue of my life to come.  
I remember how my Grandpa was always sitting in a chair watching TV in the living room, and Mom was constantly off buying food for the house and trying to find ways of saving money. She was a great cook and could make anything taste good. Let me take you back to that day so you know why I am the man I have become.  
  
Behind a smile Mom yelled, “Hey Dad, I am going to the grocery store, do you want anything?”  
  
“No, I am okay! Well maybe just a beer or two.” Grandpa replied.  
  
As her face became somber and the tone of her voice grew annoyed she said, “What was that Dad?” as she put her hand to her ear.  
  
“Nothing, don’t worry about it!” Grandpa giggled waving his hand back and forth in front of his face.  
  
As a halo appeared over Mom's head she said, “Okay Dad; Oh, make sure you don’t go anywhere, you have to watch Zack. He will be home from school soon!”  
  
Not paying attention to her, Grandpa replied, “Okay I am just watching the television! There is a cool show on the channel from my past!”  
  
“Haha, you mean the History channel!” Mom replied as she stepped outside.  
  
Grandpa answered with a carefree, “Yep, drive safe- bye!” as though secretly wishing she'd leave.  
  
With a, “Bye, Dad!” mom left to do her daily shopping.  
  


As the infomercials end, Grandpa reached for the remote on the small table next to his chair. Where is the damn volume button he groans to himself; uttering off a few other curse words he manages to turn the TV volume up.

Television: “We now return to our broadcast of our hit show, “What If”.  
At the dawn of mankind men used stone tools, however, as time progressed, new technology emerged: from stone to clubs, to swords to guns. In the recent years there has been a major spike in technology using signals and wireless adapters in the transportation of data for communications. This spike in technology allows interplanetary communication in a matter of seconds. The signal’s range may be limitless in its reaching out into space, but we do not know how far the signals can reach due to our limitations from the ground of this third rock from the sun. We cannot gather enough information. However, we have discovered that most of the signals do not get past the Earth’s atmosphere; but, we have long since been aware of a large hole in the ozone that has been progressively expanding over time, allowing for more and more waves to escape earth and travel into space. The assumption is that the waves will travel forever because there is little in space to interfere with the path of the waves.  
As the human race has evolved in communications throughout the last ten thousand years, the communication of signals has been widely upgraded. Now that we transfer live beings wirelessly and without restraint, be it information of medical records or step by step instructions of how to genetically engineer a baby, this network of signals essentially gives all of the achievements and feats that classify us as human beings.  
The signals reach to depths that are unknown to us in deep space. It may take hundreds of years for a signal to even reach a point, but eventually it may be a means to our demise.  
Now What If, in deep space there is another developed civilization that has been picking up some of our transitions? They would have no idea what our transmissions are, and they wouldn’t know our languages, nor would they know about the human race. What If they are suspicious of us and want to take precaution because they see us as a potential threat. It would probably take a couple hundred years for the aliens to decipher our languages and codes! But, what would the aliens do with the code once it is broken. What If, once they have viewed our television shows, our internet communications, and even our medical records, the aliens artificially created a small group of humans based off of the media they have compiled? What If, they decide to play God?!"  
  
Television: "In the time that it took these transmissions to reach this far-away alien civilization, Earth has advanced further. Therefore, the aliens would gauge us on what we were, not what we are. The aliens would create an artificially made human colony on a nearby inhabitable planet similar to Earth so they could study the human race better. Would the humans be treated better than the animals we study, or would this colony be worse than a zoo? The human race would be in a glass menagerie, poked and pried upon. This zoo-like colony of humans would be treated like ants. The inhabitants would be studied closely between the two slabs of glass to see what we do. These Zoo-Ants would live on the planet Zoant (Zoo-ant).  
What If, as the story continues, it is now May 17th 2508? A few hundred years have passed and the United Earth Government (UEG) has voted and can no longer allow these aliens to play God. Upon order from the Grand Chandler Michel T. Framirous, a fleet of ships shall be launched with the intent of destroying the alien beings. The Grand Chandler declares, “We do not like our weaknesses being studied.” Would the human colony of Zoant fall prey to the crossfire of this conflict?”  
  


TV program cuts to commercial.  
Rambling on to himself sarcastically Grandpa says, "That would be a really cool story! “What If” it was real? More like “What If” I had a gun, I would shoot myself if I had to watch that again. Really Zoants, they couldn’t come up with a better name? They are gods right- Why not call them Titans?"  
  


The doorbell rings!  
  


Slow to get up off of his oversize chair Grandpa shouts, “I am coming, hold on. Let me get my cane!”  
  
Tapping her foot impatiently Mom replies, “Okay Dad, sorry my hands are full!”  
  
Cursing under his breath grandpa shouts, “Alright, hold your horses!" As he opens the door he says,"Wow, it is cold out here! I wonder what is taking Zack so long to get home.- He should have been home awhile ago.” Grandpa peaks his head out the door, glancing around, worried for his grandson Zack.  
  
Shrugging her shoulders with groceries in hand Mom whimsically says, “I’m sure he was just wondered off somewhere with a friend.”  
  
Closing the door behind Mom, Grandpa mutters, "What a wonderful parent."


	2. Prologue: Labyrinth

Zack POV: My eye is unable to open; red tints my eye as black hides it away, the pain is like a needle stabbing straight to my soul. Punch after punch, as the laughing continued my body went limp. I was a punching bag for some wise-ass kids. As I cough, some blood drips from my mouth onto the sidewalk. I close my eyes as a jolt to my ribs made a snapping sound. With that sound the kids run home. Limping my way back home and blood dripping down the side of my face like tears; finally, I got home. I carefully opened the door so it would not creak; I was trying to be stealthy and get to my room without being noticed. I managed to avoid the kitchen, but Grandpa called me over to him. I am in shock, I still am not sure what gave my presence away.  
  
Grandpa worriedly asks, “Zack what happened to your eye? Let me go get your mom! Honey where are you?!”  
  
Oblivious to the situation, Mom replies, “In the kitchen unpacking the groceries! Is everything okay?! Did you misplace your pills again Dad?!”  
  
I whispers in a serious voice “No- I am fine Grandpa really!”  
  
Grandpa saw that I was nervous to confront my mother, so he quickly says, “Never mind honey, I found them!" He quickly looked at Zack and sternly said, "Okay Zack, what happened? Tell me, or I will go get your Mom!”  
  
Looking at the ground and talking in a whisper, I stutter, “I ran into a door- no- no, I fell down the stairs.”  
  
Grandpa, with a deep raspy, voice says, “Do you want me to get your Mom? Look me straight in the face and tell me that isn’t a lie!”  
  
I began to look around to make sure that Mom wasn't coming and tells Grandpa, “Please don’t Grandpa, just s-some stupid kids at school, -They were picking on me, saying things like, I don’t know how to fight, and that my daddy hated me and- and I am why he left.”  
  
While patting me on the head, Grandpa says with a big smile, “They don’t know what they are talking about, Zack sit down, let me tell you a story about your father. Your father was a tough guy, he was the type of guy who could get a tooth filling without Novacaine and have a colonoscopy at the same time. I have some of his old journals under the staircase. They are a bit dusty and tethered but I think it is time for you to know a little bit about your father. I’ll be right back! Why don’t you get a towel to wipe some of the blood off of your face? Maybe your story of falling down the stairs might be a little more believable to your Mother if she doesn’t see bloody hand prints on your face.”  
  
As I cleanmy face, Grandpa comes back with a large black book and a smaller red book, both with a thick layer of dust on them. As he blows the dust off the big black book, it formed a cloud. Some dust got into my mouth and I coughed; it was like eating chalk with a hint of a cigarette. I just mustered up a smile. I was ready to listen!  
With an eager look on his face, I say, “Okay grandpa.”  
Grandpa opens the smaller of the two books and says, “I found a few of your Dad's books, this one starts out a little before you were born. It begins:  
  


March 8th 2513  
  


It is a beautiful clear sunny day, as if the clouds are being herded like sheep on the roof tops of mountainous skyscrapers and the noise of factories booms throughout the city. Cars stop to take turns for one another and people hurrying on the sidewalks walking to work, stopping only to smile and wave, it's a wonderful place to live and I hope to one day raise a family here.  
I hear a scream, and the peacefulness is quickly gone; the house adjacent to mine is smashed and the walls slam to the ground accompanied by loud bangs. As I look toward the sky, it morphs into a reddish-black hue eclipsing the sun, trapping it in its shadow; it is as if devilish crows have flocked in the heavens. As the sky begins to spew shards of forged debris, rays of light possessing exquisite beauty shine from the heavens forming a second sun. I look around, and come to a pause; nothing that is happening makes sense. What's happening is incomprehensible, this just can't be true. I am staggering in disbelief. What is happening?  
Amazed, yet frightened by the blazing debris, I hesitantly shimmy out through my front door in the hopes that my house’s overhang will provide me some kind of shielding. But my house doesn’t seem like it will provide any safety. I need to know why this is happening, and did the government know this was going to happen? Why was there no warning? Who is to blame? Seeking answers, I take to the streets. I see men, women and children alike all screaming uncontrollably, some in a violent rage. Their faces are marked with fear, some are praying, others starting to riot. Complete anarchy has spread across the city. Cars are burning as blood and mangled remains of bodies line the streets; this once prosperous city has in mere minutes turned into a picture of hell. There are so many questions, and no feasible explanations.  
I hear a cloaked voice call out to me. As I glance over to acknowledge the man, he charges at me. He is a rhino on a stampede, bashing me aside with his horn. I stumble to regain my footing; I raise my fist in defense, at a loss to what is happening. Nevertheless, I cannot sit idle and take a beating. I shout, '' What the hell are you, do-" Just then a chunk of debris comes crashing down where seconds ago I had stood.”  
__________  
Interrupting Grandpa's story, I curiously ask, “Did the man really become a rhino?!”  
  
With a small chuckle, Grandpa said “That is what the book says.”  
  
In amazement, I enthusiastically say “Wow cool! I want to be a rhino!”  
  
I remember grabbing a bottle of glue and trying to glue the nearest horn-like object to my head; my shoe always made that sticky crackly sound after that. It was like there was always gum stuck to my shoe. Grandpa was almost on the floor laughing, as I was trying to charge the wall.  
Nodding his head in approval, Grandpa replies, “Your dad was something else. I think that is enough reading for now my little rhinoceros.”  
Looking Grandpa straight in the eyes, I ask, “Please Grandpa, can you keep reading the story?!”  
  
Grandpa’s look of annoyance said it all, but he cracked a smile  
Grandpa begins to read the journal again.  
“I am in awe as fond memories flash before my eyes: memories of my mother’s smile, of family gatherings, and even my first kiss, she was eleven years old and I, twelve. I am unable to move from shock and astonishment. A massive piece of what appears to be some kind of ship from the sky begins to teeter in my direction, its shadow engulfs me.  
  


March 15th 2513  
  


I open my eyes. A red haze glimmers through a gap in the drawn window shades. It would be a delight for a sailor’s eye. Thoughts pour into my head of what I had witnessed. Was that all just a dream? Frantically, I look around: Where am I? I see there is another man in the room who looks as if he had been in a terrible fight. I call out to him but there is no answer. I start to hear a ringing in my ears of a long drawn out, “BEEP!” Right then, the door whips open and two angels in flowing white dash in. As they rush to the motionless man, the faces of the two angels become stricken with grief. I watch as they slowly walk away. My eyes are heavy, I cannot keep them open.  
  


March 16th 2513  
  


How did I arrive at this place, what day is it? Thoughts flood into my mind, as the horrors of a burning hell keep playing over and over. What were those shadows in the sky, what has befallen the earth? A shearing pain runs up my arm, I start to come to. Everything is fuzzy and the lights are blinding, yet in my delirium I am still able to make out some figures. There are three people standing around me, covered with stripes of crimson over their attire. The room is spinning- What's going on? One individual turns to me and smiles, simply saying, “You are quite the fighter.”  
  


March 29th 2513  
  


Confined as though mummified I lay, day after day, only hearing scurrying footsteps outside the door. I am only comforted by my daily visits from my nurse. She has eyes bluer than the ocean, and a voice so elegant that maybe my first assumption of her being an angel was correct.  
Every time she enters, the machine next to me makes noise more frequently. Her smile is the last thing I see before the blanket of blackness covers the room.  
  


April 4th 2513  
  


As if I were an animal caged for weeks, the day has finally arrived and the doors to freedom open; a tear drips from my cheek. Still too feeble to walk and needing to be attached to IV’s, a man with a wheelchair comes for me. The person chauffeuring me looks familiar, I am certain our paths have crossed. When the debris came crashing down on me I remembered seeing this man. The man begins to speak, "I am glad you’re safe. Lucky for you I work here and had a crash kit with me. If I had gotten to you any later I’m not sure what I could have done to stabilize you. Oh, I haven’t properly introduced myself! My name is Ileum." As he brings me to a room filled with hundreds of cots sandwiched together, he explains what had happened to me. Apparently, there was a meteor shower and I was one of thousands caught in the crossfire. I shake my head in disbelief of this news and begin to wheel my way to the skylight, seeing my first glimpse of the outside in what seemed to be an eternity. Was he really telling the truth? As I creep closer to the window, I can merely observe remnants of structures that once were. I see cars crushed over people like tombstones, and the Santinelli Tower toppled over acting as a dam flooding the downtown area. The night when the sky fell- Hell rose! With a minimum exchange of words I thanked the man, and asked to be alone.  
I watch the sun through the skylight shine its nurturing warmth over the land as if it is trying to bring the city back to life, like a forest that has become a desert, a useless struggle.  
  


April 7th 2513  
  


The taste of deceit fills Aiden’s mouth while his paranoia perceives everyone as a threat.  
Do I know the truth? Who is victim or prey?  
For the past few days, at the instant when the sun loses its battle to the night, Ileum has slithered into my room as I lay in a semi-conscious state on the brink of consciousness. One of my eyes is in reality and the other in a dream. One eye dreams betrayal, as the other eye sees Ileum approach my IV’s with a syringe. His face is snakelike, striking the IV’s with his fangs. The poison mixes with the fluids fashioning a mischievous recipe to enter my body. As he exits the room, I corner the tube easing the flow of the IV’s, halting the poison before it enters my body. I need to escape this nightmare!  
I drag my leg, clawing at the wall to stay upright; I see a shimmer of neon green glowing in the distance. Drawn like a fly to a light, I muster up the strength to make the journey. With each mind-wrenching step, I am able to stretch my wings and feel the subtle chill from the wind while I escape through the door.  
As I flee from this scarred land of a one-sided war where mice and maggots infest, feasting upon the carcasses of unfortunate victims, I hear loud footsteps approaching from behind. I don’t know who is trailing me but I cannot go back to that dungeon of solitude. An idea springs to life in my head to hide myself in a pile of corpses lying beside the road. As I hide in this grave next to a vacant face, the blood of a nearby corpse soaks my skin. A cloak of sand dances across the town; the footsteps of the indignant follower fade in the night’s poison.  
  


February 18th 2522 (9 years later)  
  


Ring after ring has come and gone, as the tree begins to wither, but that abysmal day remains infamously vivid, etched in my mind, like that of a child who knows only of life but learns of death.”  
__________  
Confused by the story, I ask “But where am I, or my mom in this!”  
  
Interrupting Zack's question, Mom yells to them from the kitchen, “Zack honey, are you in your room?!”  
  
Joyfully I answer, “Yes mom, grandpa is reading me stories about dad!”  
  
With an annoyed grunt to her voice Mom screams, “OH- IS HE?! I will be right up!”  
  
The stairs creak- and almost snap as Mom makes her way up them.  
Nervously Grandpa flicks off the lights and says “I will finish reading you the story another time.”  
  
As Grandpa is about to close the door, I say, “Please finish Grandpa!”  
  
With an angry glare on her face, Mom entered the room and says, “Yes, Dad -please finish, - then we will have a talk downstairs!”  
  


Grandpa knew that he was in trouble with Mom, but my ignorance was fascinated with the story.  
Grandpa begins to read again, but much faster and with a bit of a stutter to his voice.  
“Thin, buckling legs carry me as I tread along the seemingly endless highway- The fog of the night escorts the wind and together they shroud my being, while the planet Zeent gently drifts from me as I descend up into the mountains. I become forever caught in the instant, as once fluttering leaves trapped in the current remain still, void of the sands of time.  
This desolate, godless era shall spring forth new technologies based on paranoia for society’s safety. As every effort will be underway to rebuild and restore that which was ground to rubble, I am an unseen relic, forever anonymous with only a lonesome rose beside my grave. R.I.P. Aiden Milo McLuca.”  
  
Abruptly finishing with the story, Grandpa worryingly laughs, “Zack stay in your room and get some rest. Your Mom and I are going downstairs to keep the fire going.”  
  
The name mentioned in the journal confuses me, but in delight for the story I say, “Thank you for reading me my Dad’s friend’s journal. Goodnight Grandpa.”


	3. Fury

With an angry voice, Mom scolds Grandpa, “Dad you shouldn’t tell him stories like that! I know you are reading from a blank book! You use to do that to me when I wanted to hear a story I wasn’t quite ready for! And good going, using your name as the dead man because that is what you’re going to be! Do you think when he finds out your name is Aiden and not just ‘Grandpa' this story will hold up!”  
  
Smiling with a bad poker-face Grandpa says, “How else can you explain what happened to a child! Maybe I really did save the world!”  
  
Yelling at the top of her lungs, Mom shouts, “You can do it without giving your grandson nightmares! Oh please, you can hardly tie your own shoes!”  
  
Waving his hand back and forth in-front of his face Grandpa says, “Nightmares are what keeps kids from asking too many questions. Like that time that you walked in on your Mom and-. Haha!”  
  
Inching my way down the steps and peaking my head through the railing bars I ask, “Mom, who is Aiden Milo McLuca?”  
  
In one deep breath, Mom avoids the question and says, “Zack, go back upstairs, he was a friend of your fathers- Dad you have to fix this!”  
  


Signaling for me to come down stairs, Grandpa smiles at me and says, “Zack it is alright, come down here and let me tell you another story. This time it will be about your dad, I promise.”  
  
Still poking my head out between the cold iron rails of the steps, I mutter, “You said that last time!”  
  
Smiling with his bad poker-face grandpa says, “I promise.”  
  
Slowly walking down the steps, I reply, “Okay Grandpa.”  
  
Now opening the Larger of the two books Grandpa explains, “This story also starts on the 8th of March:  
  


March 8th 2513  
  


The shine of the moon’s gaze illuminates the avenue as I, Eren, lie prostrated on the ground.  
Rolling her eyes, Mom remarks, "Great, so now he is drunk!"  
  
Grandpa stops reading for a few awkward seconds as Mom stares at him, he mumbled, “He would have had to be if he married you.” And then he continues reading.  
Flapping his arms and gesturing towards Mom, grandpa reads, "The squawk of a mother bird protecting her juvenile hatchling awakens me from my self-induced slumber. The liquor beside me trickles onto the ground and begins to coagulate into a mirror. As I stare into this bizarre marvel, I see a reflection of a man who has thrown his life away.  
The blur of the light’s glow torments my vision. As I wander without a destination, the ground begins to tremble.  
I hear screams in the distance. As I sprint towards them in my drunken haze, I skin my knee on the sandpapered gravel building and bang my shoulder on a post. What is all the screaming about? Dizzily, I look around, and see a woman kneeling on the ground with her hands together praying.  
What does this mean? Small pebbled objects strike my shoulder and I gaze to the heavens in horror. Some people are cowering like flies beneath the swatter and are crying, “This is the end!” While some stood motionless as their memories flashed before their eyes, others ran for their lives. There is panic everywhere.  
I see a lost soul and heave him from the abyss. He takes a stance to fight. In his bewildered state he screams, ''What the hell are you do-!” But he is quickly smothered, buried by debris, perhaps a fossil to be later discovered.  
Feeling like a metal rod on a stormy day, I seek refuge; and I shelter myself from the outside world in what appears to be a vacant factory. I glance through the glass chambered passage and hear the cries from the frantic people as the on-slaught of a fiery blaze continues to fall from the sky. Is this the end of the world or the beginning of a new mysterious era?"


	4. Answers

March 9th 2513  
  


The dwindling light from the candle’s warm flicker creates shadows of hundreds of figures on the wall. Phantoms that survived the on-slot of the incurable plague of shards form an irrational conglomeration of hysteria. Person by person, the tides of confusion brings an arrest to the boisterous behavior. While roads crash into the ocean, the sleeping fears awaken in my slumber. I catch glimpses of my future in a dream and realize my destiny is already predetermined.  
  


Hidden behind tears, a loud but tender voice calls to Eren, “Eren, wake up! Wake up! Thank God you are alive!”  
  
A sword slices my fantasies as a storm strikes open my insightful excursion. Drenched in my despair I begin to stutter, “Who… who is that?” I say, reluctant to open my eyes to this hellish world.  
  
Pausing to wipe the tears from her face, a smug remark filled with spite answers, “Who in the hell do you think it is?”  
  
Laying on his side, and accepting death, Eren answers in a monotone voice, “I’m not sure, are you going to tell me?”  
  
Grabbing Eren by the shoulder, she rests her head on his side and says, “Why don’t you just open your eyes and wake up! Uhhh, you are hopeless!” as she starts to shake him.  
  
My eyes open with a groan.  
I sit up and see what a nice job the Gods have done. Mikasa is lovelier than I could have ever pictured.  
Overjoyed but confused Eren said, “Mikasa, when did you get here? I’m glad you’re safe. But where is your little brother, I never see you two apart?”  
  
With a fake smile Mikasa replied, “I’m not sure. Knowing Ileum he's probably at work. You know how he is, he’s been playing with a scalpel and tape since we were kids. I just hope he is safe.”  
  
Trying to comfort her, Eren says, “I’m sure he is just fine." and then paused for a moment and asked, "Do you have any idea what’s happening outside.”  
  
With a sad but worried look on her face she replied, “I have no idea, it’s very strange.”  
  
Talking under his breath, Erin reminiscently says, "You never have, do you?"


	5. Forgotten Sunrise

The bliss of a new dawn shines like a beacon of hope, born anew. An unpaved road and overgrown with a future shrouded in strife of the untold and unknown lies ahead.  
As I linger around this haven, I overhear whispers of the Gods refuge. Camp to camp, rumor has spread and a collective sigh can be heard, for it is believed that in the northern mountains the Gods play. What can I do? How can I help them? And then it calls me; I twist off my wedding ring and begin a pilgrimage to offer my servitude to the gods. With my material baggage left behind and bound contracts shed, I shall seek this higher mountain and bask in the light of the Gods.  


With his heart beating like a beast clawing at the bars of a cage, Eren says: “Mikasa, what I am about to tell you may sound crazy, but it takes two not to feel lonely.”  
  
As blood rushes to her face, her eyes dilate, Mikasa asks, “What is it? Eren just tell me!”  
  
Taking a big gulp, Eren awkwardly yells out, “I am about to leave on a journey to seek the gods! Will you accompany me?”  
  
There is no answer, just a pause -. A single tear falls from Mikasa’s face; I embrace her while she buries her head into my chest. At this moment I know all I want is her in my arms.  
As we leave camp a part of me is left behind; a familiar life. Day by drawn-out day, the toil of walking on this desolate road where everything looks the same is excruciating. I find myself wondering if we are going anywhere. We find an alcove in the cliff to lay our heads. It is not much, but it is home for the night.  


Interrupting the story with her screams of disapproval, Mom crosses her arms and yells, "Why the hell are you telling Zack about her; is she even real?"  
  
With his left eye twitching, I could tell that Grandpa had forgotten that Mom was still in the room. In a last stitch effort to turn the tables on Mom, he firmly says "I am teaching him a lesson about love."  
  
Not backing down, Mom gives a look of disgust, she shouts, "Well you are doing a great job considering that my name is not Mikasa!"  
  
As a grey cloud forms over Mom and Grandpa, lightning strikes back and forth from their shear willpower to get in the last word. Grandpa finally says, "Oh hush up, it is bad enough that you didn’t even his eye, DEAR GOD, it’s like I have to watch over two children. So let me tell the story! He’ll be back from the bathroom any second!"  
  
I enter the room, with a smile I say, "Hi Grandpa, Hi Mom." The cloud in the room vanishes as Mom and Grandpa turns to greet me.  
  
Mom smiles and asks, "Did you remember to brush your teeth?"  
  
Smiling back at her, I reply, "Yep, I did!" he then turned to Grandpa and tugged on his shirt-sleeve and asks, "Grandpa, keep reading!"


	6. Scarlet Moon

The third moon casts a shadow over a nearby lake as I lie staring into Mikasa’s eyes. The lakeside crammed between two mountaintops covered in treed fur is eerily empty. Boooooom! A tree falls down a short distance away and a piece of its fruit rolls towards us. Shall we partake of the forbidden fruit?  
  
With a spaced out look on my face, I interrupt, “Why was the fruit forbidden?”  
  


Grandpa pours a glass of wine and takes a big sip.  
  


Rubbing his head, grandpa explains, “Because anything that comes easy in life has a cost. I will continue to read.”  
At that moment but only for an instant, the cliff transforms into mouths of many tunnels, tunnels leading in all directions through time. No matter what way I look I see death at the mouth of the cave smiling at me.  
I have seen myself as though looking through a mirror. I saw love, I saw loss, and then I saw darkness.  
The temptations of an aged soul with the infantile body’s greed always emerge. However, the times have changed and the fruit remains whole and unbitten. It may be a mistake not to take a bite; I could be happy settling down and having children, but if I were to bite the fruit, the journey would never continue.  
  


In a high pitched annoying voice, I ask “What Grandpa, that doesn’t make sense.”  
  
Stopping his hand, Grandpa pauses- Then smiles and jokingly says, “When you are older you see risks. I don't know kid, maybe the fruit hit your dad on the head. Maybe this next bit of the story will make more sense.”


	7. With Haste

Continued Grandpa reading:  
In the sky, the sphere of flame rises, venturing westward, while the birds’ noisy squawks line the forest; it is like they are mocking us. As we continue to walk, stopping now and again to rest and tell stories about how our lives were and could have turned out, the wind occasionally whips up dust from the path reminding us how lucky we are to be alive. After each gust of wind we stay silent, honoring the people who never made it out of the dust. Mikasa ran to find a spot to set up camp for the night. By the time I had caught up to her she had already laid out some branches and cleared away some rocks for a place to sleep.  
As I looked at the branches that she had snapped off the trees, a new path appeared, a life where I was a dad and my wife was giving birth to our new baby son. It was a life where the hairs on my head become snow like, both brittle and white. To the screams and moans of a new life, the color has drained from me into a new generation. The fork in the road was the devil’s doing.  
As I lay down to sleep, I look up at the stars. I notice one bright star in the sky moving fast and make a wish. I wish to know what is happening, I wish to start over. As I watch the star I see other little stars around it. I make a few more wishes before I fall asleep.  
  


March 28th 2513  
  


As the sun rises Eren and Mikasa wake up. Determined to continue, Mikasa says, “Which way do we go?!” as she looks Eren in the eyes the two begin to move towards each-other.  
  
Looking at her lips, Erin says, “I am not sure, we’re 100 miles from anywhere! Look, just up ahead there are two paths. The path to the right seems groomed, lined with white flowers. The path to the left looks old, teaming with stringy moss. As we get closer to examine the paths, I see strange markings newly carved into the tree bark.  
  
Eren hesitantly calls her over, “Mikasa come here and look at this strange mark.” he thinks to himself do I really want to live this kind of life, I could always take the road well-traveled and make Mikasa my wife; would that be such a bad thing.  
  
With a smile, Mikasa giggles with a cute laugh and says, “Looks like we are going left.”


	8. Mountain’s Cliff

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Mikasa exhaustively says, “Eren, we are nearing the top of the mountain and there is only silence." stopping to stare at Eren, she asks, "Who told you the gods were here?”  
  
With his hands in his pockets, Eren frustratingly says, “They should be here. Maybe they are just on the other side of the mountain? I think the man’s name who told me was Aiden.”  
  
Leaning on Eren while taking her shoe off, Mikasa says “Let’s hope it’s just ahead. I am all but crawling; I am not going to go much further. It feels like I am walking through needles!”  
  
Looking ahead through a small woods, Eren notices something in the distance. Happily Eren says, “You may not have to. I see some smoke in the near distance.”  
  


Eyes stare from the trees as we walk, yet they are not honored with a human shape. Just faces in the shadows, they watch our every move. We are ants in a glass cage. God, please do not shake the jar.


	9. Trojan Horse

A child-like cry shrills as the world around it goes up in smoke.  
  


Coming to a pause, Mikasa says, “Eren, do you hear crying?”  
  
Not paying attention to where he was or to what is going on around him, Eren bumps into Mikasa. He comes to a stop to listen for a cry but hears only the sounds to the leaves swaying in the wind; Eren responds, “No, it's just the swirling wind.”  
  
Certain in her belief that she heard crying Mikasa pleads, “It is coming from that building over there!”  
  
It is not much of a building, more of a barn in-earthed by moss and covered with dense smoke rising from it, perhaps, from stray logs that lost its way from a stove.  
As some boards from the roof begins to collapse Eren says, “Whatever it is, it’s too dangerous to investigate on a mere wimp! The smoke is too thick, - we wouldn’t have a chance- we couldn’t survive!”  
  
Looking at the building in the distance she says, “But Eren”-  
  
Pulling Mikasa towards him, Eren sternly says, “No buts! We are almost there! When we arrive we can just ask the Gods to bring whoever it was back to life." The sun begins to set. Exhausted Eren says, "Let us rest for the night and start anew in the morning.”  
  
With a smile Mikasa says, “Yeah, you are right- I suppose.”  
It may be too late. What if whoever was crying dies and they can't be brought back. I cannot live with that burden of a death on my shoulders if I could have prevented it. No... I will not live with a death on my shoulders!  
  
Not noticing Mikasa's worry, Eren begins to fall asleep as he says “Goodnight Mikasa.”  
  
Looking in the distance at the fire still burning, Mikasa says, “Goodnight Eren.”  
  


I, Mikasa, just heard Eren begin to snore; I decide I must investigate, what if it was a child’s cry? I’ll do my best to help. I just hope my best is enough.  
The fog of smoke is still rising and growing, but the cries have turned into screams; there is not much time. The task is now seeded in Mikasa’s heart; no matter the danger of the destiny, she must save the child.  
As she opens the door, the tarnished hinges buckle under the weight as the door slowly swings open. She calls out to the child, but there is no answer. Only a thud in the adjacent room answers her call. What could it be? Where is the child? She can feel her heart beating in her chest thrashing against her ribs like a caged beast.  
Fanatically looking around, Mikasa sees a shadow, or is it just a reflection? Her eyes see only an illusions. Charred in the fire, a crib, or what is left of it, burns. As she sees a child she plunges into the flames but it is just a doll.  
  
A strange voice begins to converse, “Tull bundew mizitch.”  
  
Huddled in a ball as flames scorch her arm, she pleads, “Who is there?”  
  
A joyful, strange laugh echoes from the shaddows, “wmuhhoo wmuh-hoo!”  
  
Crying in pain Mikasa coughs, as she lets out a soft raspy, “Hello!”  
There is no reply, only the crackling of the floor boards. I am trapped and the air is thick. I feel myself getting tired; as I fight the urge to sleep my skin starts to burn. I can- can feel myself slowly- losing- zzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxx.


	10. Blue Rose

The sun rises and welcomes in a new day. Thinking to himself that today we will reach the top of the mountain I open my eyes and yawn. Looking around I don't see Mikasa. I thinks to himself, maybe she is using the bathroom. A few minutes go by and I start to worry, I yell, “Mikasa. Mikasa!” There is no answer.  
I continues calling her name with each plea more desperate than the last. I begins to fear that something happened to her? Where could she be? Maybe she went to get some fresh water; our canteen was dryer than the desert. Maybe she will be back soon. I am left staring at a tree watching its shadow slowly make its way around.  
Minutes turn into hours, yet Mikasa’s smile is nowhere to be seen. Her laugh is nowhere to be heard, and her scent has all but evaporated. This crazy game of hide and seek must come to an end!  
  
Maybe I should backtrack to yesterday. Could something have caught her fancy?  
  
No, no, there wasn’t anything eventful, nothing worth leaving - Unless- The smoking bui- No, No!  
  
The sound… the sound! My legs cannot carry me fast enough. I begin to gallop like a horse, due south.  
Something catches my ear- a tune of someone- or something. I have never heard such sounds, but it’s not important. The only thing that is important is Mikasa. She is my Blue Rose, and I am just a bee.


	11. Dreadful

Grandpa reading continued: I arrive where the barn had stood just hours ago. Where could it be? The hillside where the barn stood now basks on the outskirts of a lake. All that is left is char. She couldn’t have gone in!  
  
Panicking I yell, “Mikasa! Mikasa!”  
Where has she gone?  
  
The wind is picking up and blows a foul stench into my nostrils as the hair singes the inside of my nose. A log with a tattered sail cruises my direction. What is that in the water? I slowly begin to realize the log is not as it appears. Covered with black and grey charcoaled ash, a face is hidden. And it is a familiar one, this log once was graced with a lustful figure: legs of slender silk, eyes that burned with a vibrant blaze, and possessed lips so sweet that with just a kiss you would be drunk for hours. Mikasa, is motionless; taken so quickly; so cruelly.  
My heart tore into fragments as I lay for hours. Did I weep? I must have, but I don’t remember.  
Awakened by that familiar mysterious noise with the log still in my hands, I wonder is it an angel or could it be a damned soul tempting my ears? Whatever it may be, it draws closer. The melody has changed slightly. It has become a duet or perhaps a trio. To me it tells of knights and fairies; it tells of great adventure. Just before I close my eyes I see a grey figure, yet I am too distraught to care. Goodnight to you world.


	12. Truth

The lights are dim and I am in a chamber of some sort. Horizontal bars line one side of the room and the others gleam with acrylics. Am I a rat for study- or for punishment?  
There is some kind of creature approaching from outside the bars making lovely music but I can’t understand it. This singing diva, although sounds lovely, has the build of a tortoise with talons as extremities, and the glaring eyes of a cat on a hunt. Are these bars to keep me in, or to keep this monster out?  
As this strange figure approaches I notice the bracelet Mikasa wore lodged in this beast’s fangs. To this vile creature it is a trophy. To me it is a love note, a note reaching out to me from beyond the grave. Enraged with anger I now know these bars are to keep me in.  
The creature reaches for a knob with a short rod attached. Is this the weapon that will end my life? No! It will be the thing to end its’- The creature is coming close to the cage with this thing- this object. It slowly presses the rod into a hole in the door.  


Click!  


The door swings open with a high pitched creak. My teeth are grinding with anxiety to slay this devil, but another beast appears at the cell door with a glowing object and presses it against my throat. My legs spasm for a few seconds then go numb. This beast starts to tightly wrap me in rope. With each pass around my body the rope constricts me as a snake constricts it’s pray. From head to toe, no inch of me is left uncovered. As this creature drags me out of this cage, I notice we are on the mountain peak.  
Are these the gods? No, they can’t be, it just is not possible. I am being dragged past fire pits where body parts are skewed and roasted. The flesh dangles on the skewers, charring and blackening in the fire  
Organs are scorched with blaze as blood crackles in the fire; the creatures snare in amusement. Some unattended skewers burn and fall into the fire. We humans are nothing more than animals to these beasts. I see some sporting clothing fashioned from a human hide.  
The clothing Mikasa had worn blows past me in the wind, as I see her beautiful face in the ashes. The eyes that I once loved, that I had grown fond of just stare with a cold, empty gaze.


	13. Submerge

As a beast drags me, I look around in fear. What is that? Is that their-  
  
The mammoth beast looks at Eren, it snarls, “Hevo had fo kill al homandz!”  
  
The monsters must have poisoned me. In this delusional state, I believe the lyrics to the beast’s melodies are exposing their true nature.  
With sweat dripping off my brow, and bound with the fabric of despair, a talon of the beast jabs me forward. I fall limply on the ground before an altar where a pillar of a throne sits.  
The monster perched before me reveals a ring of gold atop its mane and begins to snicker, “Wmuhhoo wmuh-hoo!”  
  
This must be the beast known as Zeus. This once revered deity, father to us all, is now a wicked creature.  
Glairing into the beasts eyes, I yelled, “Zeus, you and your race are a pathetic excuse for an existence! I once worshiped you as a god, now I see you for what you truly are, a vermin stripped of decency.”  
The glare of his eyes intensifies with each word I say. The beast is silent. Minutes go by but time seems to have stopped. Slowly, Zeus rises from his chair of gold and begins to walk closer. With each step he takes, my heart skips a beat. My eyes begin to glisten when Mikasa’s face appears with a smile as though a picture of the past. “Sorry my love, I will see you soon.”  
  
The beast grabs me by the neck, and looks at me eye to eye, mumbling under his breath, “Youz most have a keath wish.”  
  
At this moment I have no fear, the anguish has left my body; I am numb, yet proud. I spit on the God and yell, "You and your race are a pitiful excuse clinging to life off the blood of others.”  
  
Zeus roars with anger.  
He releases his talon as one of my eyes is stricken with pain.  
  
Dangling my eye in-front of me Zeus laughs as he tosses my eye into the fire. This monster says, “Now you shall mever loak down at I again! Take him and what is left of hid companion, bindz them together and heave them into the waves of blue.”  
  
“Hahaaa, mes father.”  
As I am drugged away, blood runs down my chest and my vision is blurred; I feel no pain as the salt from the ocean douses my wounds. This flame of mine will finally be extinguished, smothered by the great sea of Zeent. My candle has shed a brief light.  
\-----------  
Zack POV: Cringing at what is happening, "Grandpa, I am scared. Will he be alright?" I ask frigidity.  
  
Grandpa was silent for a minute. Then says, "Yeah there are still a few more pages your dad wrote in his journal."


	14. Castaway

Hidden behind tears, a loud but tender voice calls to me, “Eren, wake up! Wake up! Thank God you are alive!”  
  
A sword slices my fantasies as a storm strikes open my insightful excursion. Drenched in my despair I begin to stutter, “Who… who is that?” I say reluctant to open my eyes to this hellish world.  
  
Pausing to wipe the tears from her face, a smug remark filled with spite answers, “Who in the hell do you think it is?”  
  
My heart rejoices with joy. I open my eyes widely and look to her.  
  
“Mikasa, you are alive! I thought I had lost you.” Eren joyfully yells.  
  
Thinking to myself, I must have hit my head. In any case that dream was some twisted nightmare my imagination concocted. As I look at her, I say,  
“Mikasa, I have not been truly honest with you. I have kept my feelings to myself for too long. I love you, and always”-  
  
“Grrrrrraaaa-ssspppppuuhhh!” a giant whale crashes back into the water.  
  
I wake up from my dream.  
  
Panicking, I look around for Mikasa. Her lifeless corpse gets tugged under the wave by- What was that? Waves are thrashing me aside as if I am their puppet; they are the puppeteers pulling the strings to my final act.  
Struggling to stay above water, I claw at the waves; there is no land that my eye can see. The blood from my other eye is forming a slick, and chumming the water; the saltwater stings as I continuously am thrown under the waves. Many shadows are swimming just below the waters murky surface encapsulating me in a circle. One of the larger shadows begins to surface with its mouth opened wide; this toothless Goliath swallows what is left of Mikasa and me.  
  
Everything is dark. Is this how death looks? If so, there is no light at the end of my tunnel, just a small hole in the roof revealing a gloomy sky speckled in a hue of black tar. I am a damned soul on the ferry to hell.  



	15. Forsaken

A high pitched howl wakes me up as the moon's glow shines with a magnificent light.  
This must be Cerberus, the three headed watchdog of Hell.  
I should keep my eye closed, but I must see the face of my executor.  
  
“Eeemmmm emmm!"  
Confused I open my eyes  
  
Stuttering in relief I say, “It- It's a puppy. What is this place?” Golden sand lines the shore as elephants and horses roam free. This island is a sanctuary to every animal I have ever seen and some that have been thought to be extinct. This strange place harbors two of every animal imaginable, an island home to everything except for other humans. I look around, I notice a bloodstain on my sleeve, this is all I have to remember Mikasa, and my memories are my only companion.  
As a wave strikes my side the salt stings my wounds. I have enough strength to stand. As I look around I see a forest lays before me within it is a grove of giant Dogwood trees. These trees clothe the island; a squirrel could travel cost to cost without ever touching the ground. The massive trees transcend time and bear fruit that looks luscious.  
  
Booooooooom!  
  
One of the ripened fruits hits the ground and rolls between my feet; my stomach lets out a groan. I look around as I pick up the fruit and see a snake slither by.  
I begin to peel away the rough exterior of this lavender colored husk. What a strange fruit. I take a bite and the flavor is so exquisite, it fills my mouth and somehow my mind. An epiphany unravels in my head of a blueprint of a vessel and cruises in my thoughts.  
  
There is plenty of virgin woodland around to build the ship I envision. This island is paradise, except there is no one to share it with. I will build this vessel to escape: an arc to escape my heart’s loss, an arc of loneliness.  
My eye still bleeds from Zeus’s hand, it is the pain that drives me towards my goal.  
I fasten a stone to a stick with the stained cloth from my sleeve. I thrash the makeshift axe into the tree over and over; the tree sways and crackles becoming music to my ears. With each swing of the axe, I transcends into a warrior in a struggle with Zeus. One by one, tree after tree falls as though Zeus’s armies are slain; a grin comes to my face as the last tree falls violently on the beach, the ocean’s tides thrash against its trunk.


	16. The Blood and Body

My back is tattered, bruised, and torn; my hands, are a bloody leather; they tense and tremble with each swing of the hammer and with each lift of a log. As I construct my vessel, I gaze out into the great sea of Zeent. I wonder how many years a mountain can exist till it is buried in the sea.  
With the last slide of a board and bang of the hammer, the arc is completed. Will it float, and if so for how long? The preparations are finished, and I have gathered a stockpile of food to accommodate my travels. I shall set sail immediately.  
I grab one of the strange looking fruits and hit it against the bow of the boat; I christen this vessel. “Grimacia, may you one day be remembered for your fine voyage.”  
The stars in the sky sparkle with valor overshadowing the universe’s death-like black hue. They are my instruments to guide my path, back to where I had happier days; back to where Mikasa and I had set off to serve those foul monstrosities. I can only hope the encampment will still be there.  
Morning has come and slowly faded into night, the coastline is all but a memory; yet, Mikasa will-  


Booooooooom!  


The ship is being tortured, wave after merciless wave. The boat’s walls have begun to bow and creaks become a regular sound. A thick fog flows in from the east. Thunder roars, as lightning strikes the boat’s sail. Fire begins to engulf the sail and spreads to the ship’s mass. A wave comes crashing over the boat’s deck and battles the fire for supremacy of the vessel. Will Grimacia survive the night?  
Back and forth the boat rocks nearly inverting with each swing. This ship has become an amusement park attraction; however, I am no paying customer. A limb from a tree not fully cut knocks me unconscious.  
It is the next morning as the sun burns my skin. An eagle’s high-pitched call echoes in the sky as it circles the ship hoping I would be its next meal. I poke my side in the disbelief that I am alive. Better yet, I can see land just ahead. The light of a familiar lighthouse guides me ashore. I have survived, I am finally home!


	17. Spasm

A short walk up the hill from the shore and the smell of industry fills the air. These ants have been busy. A town- no a city- has sprung up in the time while I have been gone; much has changed but one question remains unanswered. The question is- who or what caused that event and who or what is to blame? A question that is simple, yet so hard to explain.  
I perch myself upon a stage in the town square; the gashes that scar my skin and my blood stained clothes quickly draw a crowd. The crowd is silent, their eyes show fear. I have no hesitance as I begin to tell my story. I explain to everyone that everything that they had once worshiped and believed in was a lie. There were never gods, in fact it was the monstrous, evil beings who had caused all of the death and destruction. At first I was met with disbelief, but I continued with my story. The crowd’s faces had turned from fearful to angry. Their friends their families died because of these beasts. Some people cry, as others tremble, but all saw this to be the true reality, they know that I speak the truth.  
A large man with a shaved head and a scared body makes his way to the front of the crowd and begins to speak: “You have stood up to the beasts and their barbaric rituals; you should be the one to lead us!”  
Another man in the crowd chimes in and says: “Yes, we must fight back! We must- we must win! And you are the man to lead us!”  
  
With a cold loveless stare I say, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but this venture will not be easy to cut the shackles from us, we must fight back and destroy the beasts. This war will be the war to end all wars.  
I shall be your leader and you shall be my black knights. We hold the responsibility for a better life for today and for the future. As of now, we bring the war to those bastards; now get on your horses and ride off, camp to camp and spread the word of war; kill the Gods”  
  
As grandpa comes to a pause in reading to take another gulp of wine, he smiles at Mom.  
Yawning, Mom says, "I have work in the morning and it is getting late, I am going to bed." stretching her arms up in the air, she continues to say, "Wrap it up for the night soon." she kisses me on the forehead as she runs her fingers through my hair she whispers, "Never grow up." as she closes the door she smiles while saying, "Good night honey I love you, goodnight Dad.  
  
Smiling back at her as the door closes, I says, "I love you too Mom.  
  
Grandpa seemed to be a little sad when Mom left the room. Back then I didn't know how he really felt when he looked at her. I didn't know that he had stayed strong for her after my Dad had left.


	18. World war

Looking down at me, Grandpa smiles and says, "Only one page left for the night" as he began to read:  
Robert the dispatcher: “Lord Eren, it has been six weeks since you issued your command. Our numbers grow stronger with each passing day, but will it be enough to defeat those devilish demons from the sky?”

Angrily striking a wall with his fist, Eren says, “It has to be- No, it must be!  
I have faced death but did not die and have spit upon Zeus’s face, leaving me to become the face of freedom and change. Under this face of mine there are muscles, and bones. I represent everyone who has died and will die."

Oh, Mikasa, Mikasa, I have tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intend to be! The way you make me feel whenever I think about you, it is just not fair. Regardless of what will happen, and has happened, I shall always remember you my love. I will see you soon!  
Turning to his troops, Eren decrees, “The Gods made it rain fire from the heavens and were not pleased with us, their creations. And those of us who lived through the ashes were granted a second chance to fight back. Tomorrow the evil Gods will feel our wrath!”

Smiling at me, Grandpa hands me a pair of old goggles with the letters E.Y. engraved in the side of them. Placing them onto my hands, Grandpa says, "Zack, your dad was a true hero."

Examining the goggles, I ask, "What happened after the war started?"

Closing the book and tucking it under his arm, Grandpa says, "I will tell you tomorrow night. You need to get some rest for school in the morning."

Yawning as he climbs into bed, I say, "Aww Grandpa! Please!"

Grandpa with a stern stare looks at me with his eyes glaring.

Crossing my arms, I unenthusiastically say, "Fine- Goodnight!"

With a quick Laugh, Grandpa says, "Haha, goodnight kido! Just remember, if you give a man power, he could do the greatest of feats and still never be truly happy. It is the man that tries and gives his best effort and finally makes it after countless tries who is forever happy. It is not the rich person who give millions of dollars, but it is the poor person that gives all he has who truly changes the world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Book 1. I hope you enjoyed reading my story. Attack on Titan Is a great show. I drew some inspiration from it but tried to make my own creation. I will post Book 2 soon. I am still debating ideas and have the basic story down but have to add the Grandfather into the story.


End file.
